Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in North America that compete at levels below that of Major League Baseball. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses, and many are members of Minor League Baseball, an umbrella organization for leagues that have agreements to operate as affiliates of Major League Baseball. Several leagues, known as independent leagues, do not have any links to Major League Baseball, and thus are not members of organized baseball. Many alumni of independent baseball, however, have worked their way to the major leagues and many former MLBers play in independent baseball. In minor league baseball, many of the highly touted prospects fail to impress, and many players who are not so well known succeed. This is where the phrase "There is no such thing called a sure thing in the minor leagues" is from.